Chandrayaan-I to be launched in September: ISRO chief

Bangalore, Jul 24 (UNI) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today reaffirmed that its maiden lunar mission, Chandrayaan-I, will take place in September.

The exact date of the launch would be decided after taking stock of the mission's progress and induction of 'Thermos Vacus' in the satellite, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told UNI here on the sidelines of the three-day fifth International Conference on Smart Materials, Structures and Systems.

''We may decide on the date during the meeting about launch of Chandrayaan-I and if everything goes on well as per plan, it should be launched in September'', he added.

The 100 x 100 km Lunar Polar Orbit PSLV would inject a 1,050 kg satellite in 240 x 36000 km lunar orbit, with an orbital mass of 523 kg, including a scientific payload of 55 kg that had a two-year life.

The success of the lunar mission would be a step forward in expanding scientific knowledge about the moon, upgrading India's technological capability and providing challenging opportunities for planetary research to the younger generation.